A Chance to Change
by Lina Inverse the Dramata
Summary: Lina finds a very mysterious book in the remains of Rezo's laboratory. Because of this book, she now holds the power to travel into the past, bearing this responsibility on her shoulders... she has to make a choice. (Unfinished)
1. Chapter 1 To Find a Treasure

**Summary:** Lina is thrown into the past and is given the chance to correct, and maybe even change their past.

**A Chance to Change**

Chapter 1

To Find A Treasure

_Given the chance to make something right, knowing it could possibly change your world drastically, would you do it?_

"And dig men! Break in thirty minutes, but not unless the works done!" the voice of the leader of the workers boomed.

"Dig and dig, that's all we do!" grunted one man, his body was tired and sore, he wanted nothing more than to just stop, and drink ice cold water in the shade.

"We have orders from Seyrune to try and uncover whatever may be left of Rezo's laboratory men! And than to repair the city." Galen, the man in charge, had overheard Talan whining and for the millionth time went to explaining WHY they were doing this.

So far most of the land had slowly been cleared, and having magicians around, used them to detect where the magic power level increased the most.

About thirty feet away a seventeen-year-old boy, tanned skin, with blue eyes, and red hair, hit something hard in the ground.

"What the..." he banged his shovel against it and heard the scraping of stone against metal again. He looked about, but no one had noticed, so he bent over and brushed the sand away from an area. Stone radiating a small magic aura, was what proved to be beneath it.

_'I might have found...'_ his thoughts trailed off as anticipation filled him. He climbed out of the eight by eight cleared ground, "Galen! I think I may have found something!"

Soon enough the area had been cleared farther and the sorceress Ravenna went to chanting. A beam shot from her finger and she traced a circle around the stone, which than started to give away. At that moment several sorcerers cried out, levitation, and slowly the heavy piece of cement slowly began to lift, they lifted it and placed it in the cleared space near by, and then let out indrawn breaths from the endurance used to maintain the spell.

"It's ... there's a hole, that means this must be a room or part of the corridor." Ravenna floated above the hole and threw a light spell down inside. Dust particles filled the air, but if she wasn't wrong... There were forms inside.... Books... cases knocked over... "If I'm not mistaken we've hit the jack pot gentleman, send our fastest horse and strongest man, to deliver the message that we have found the library of Rezo, the Red Priest!"


	2. Chapter 2 Discoveries

Chapter 2

Discoveries

"_Something's were destined by fate to be done, this was not one of them..."_

"Miss Lina, please go in my place, search Rezo's library for Zelgadis' cure! I have ordered the people that after you get there to pack every book he owned and to bring it to the Seyrune palace so that when Zelgadis returns we can show him them. But while you're there, please start researching, I want you to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

"You want Lina to keep things from going wrong? You're funny." Gourry promptly was introduced to Lina's fist. "Oww..."

"Sure Amelia, I'll do it."

**Two Weeks Later... **

"YAWN... This is so boring. So far I've found notes to how to make a copy... and how to make Chimera's, one hundred ways to cure blindness..." she trailed off, talking to herself was not a good sign for her sanity.

"Inverse - Sama, we have gathered the last load of books and tomorrow we will be ready to travel." John, the red haired man who found the library, came into her tent. "Have you found anything yet?"

"No, nothing...."

"Well in the morning be prepared to head to Seyrune..." with that he left the tent and left her to her thoughts.

"I might as well go see if there is something else...." she left her tent and went over to the site and levitated herself down into the dank hole. A light spell immediately went off and she began searching the pretty much barren room.

"Empty... yup." ten minutes of searching told her that the workers had missed nothing. "The only thing they left was you." she looked up to the Rezo headpiece, which stayed silent. "Yeah, yeah, yeah..." she picked up a small stone and flicked it at the headpiece, the stone hit the target and rebounded off with a hallow clang.

Blink blink.

_Clang_?

That sounded awfully hallow... She went over to the headpiece and floated up to knock her fist against it. Yup, hallow. "Hmm why are you hallow?" she placed her hands on the underside of each shoulder guard and lifted up... There was a wall behind it. The headpiece in her hands was heavy, and not easy to hold. "You're... ungh, heavy..." she tried resetting her grasp on it, but it slipped from her gloved hands easily and fell to the dusty emerald floor, shattering at the impact.

Loud echoes resounded through the room, magnified by the sheer emptiness of it, effectively deafening her for a brief moment. "Oww..." she looked down to the shattered pieces, and among them was a book.

"Nani kore?" she flew down and gathered the book in her hands. It was in good condition, though the paper was yellowed. There were three circles entwining each other on the cover, with a figure of a lady in the middle of them.

"Curiouser and Curiouser..." she flipped open the book and saw writing in runes. The same kind of runes that the Claire Bible had been written in.

"What..." her voice trailed off and she sat herself down and leaned against a bookshelf, the light spell hovering over her shoulder.

_"There has not been a time in creation where someone has not wished for the ability to change the past, I through a magical accident, have found that it is possible to change the past. Though I learned it has great consequence. My name is Montague, while working on magical studies which I shall not name, for were I to, I would warp time worse than it already is, I discovered the ability to time travel. _

_During the end of casting this spell, instead of the desired result of what I had been aiming for, a crystal see through gate way seemed to rip open in the middle of air. In it I could see trees, a forest, and clear skies. Not one to just leap in, I started experimenting with my mistake. _

_It took a year for me to finally brave the ultimate test; I was to go through it myself. I had learned that things going through this gate could not come back, by sending in animals. With me I brought magic supplies, and other such things, magic books, and the clothing on my back, my life had been going down hill since my experimenting and was becoming more and more dangerous to do. Several low level demons had attacked my laboratory, and killed one of my co-workers. Now there were wards and spells protecting me. _

_Deciding to take with me my knowledge and life, I went through, leaving a letter of explanation to my friends who worked with me. I didn't realize that by entering that portal my letter was not needed. _

_As I entered I came through onto an open road, night stars, chilly air filled my senses. Where was I? As I reached the town, it seemed more primitive then the poorest buildings we had back where I had come from. As I looked into one of the three shops they had, I realized that the only words, which there was little of, were in the primitive dialect of our language. _

_Sleeping out on the street my first night was uncomfortable, but when I awoke, it was to people surrounding me. Looking at me in curiousness, suspicion and some in hostility. _

_"Who are you stranger?" one man said to me. _

_As I looked at the people before me I realized that their clothes... were of ancestors past._

_"I am... Scott of Montague." I stood up grabbing my large bag that I had been sleeping on. At this they backed up a step. _

_"Where are you from that you sleep in the street yet you're clothes are regal?" Another man looked at me evenly with his brown eyes. _

_"A stranger from a land, I mean you no harm. I am not sure where I am, or what year it is for that matter... I have been secluded for a long time. On my own." I added. _

_After many questions and a week in their simple small town, I found myself to be almost two thousand years into my past. Before Shabranigdo's destruction by the Sorceress Luna. Which was one thousand, five hundred years before me. She was a legendary sorceress who had battled evil that threatened to overwhelm the world. But I will not go into what MY history was, for what it was, because of my merely BEING here, it is no longer..." _

Lina took a breath and rested her head against the shelf; "This is a journal of something VERY strange..."

She flipped through it some more and near the end the magical process of going into the past was shown. "Oh that's wonderful, give us the way into the past without having a way back..." she flipped through it some more and there were the words, 'Reversal, To Go Back'.

Before the spell and the way of going back was told, there was more of his handwriting. _"I did find my way back to the 'future' but when I had returned it was so drastically changed that I knew nothing of it. A week of staying there showed me this. In the history books I learned that instead of Luna having destroyed Shabranigdo, her, sister, that had never existed before, Lina Inverse, had done so. Along with her companions, Zelgadis Greywords, grandson of some great Red Priest, and Gourry Gabrieve. Finding myself in confusion I recast the spell and threw myself back into the past, only to find myself in a time further then when I had first done the spell, but before Shabranigdo. _

_It took a year in one village before a Priest entered the village. He was interested in me because of rumors and stories, and when he came, I confessed my whole story to him, and admitted of what had happened, future be damned, I than said I would give him this book after I made one final entry, this entry. I had found the way back, but I would not go, I have entrusted this to Rezo, the Red Priest, to guard this book. He promised to hide it and never to reproduce copies or to let others see it. This is my last entry, how to return from the past, but you may not want to, after he has left with this book, I will kill myself, I have destroyed the natural order of time, I should never have done such a foolish thing. _

_- Scott of Montague" _

Lina re-read the entry and shuddered. If what Montague had said was true, because he went into the past, was the reason why she existed in an indirect way. But really... Her sister fighting Shabranigdo? She refused to even fight Dark Star!

This book was enitrely too creepy. But still... She studied the book for two hours before her light spell went out leaving her in the dark. What was she going to do about this?

She had the ability to change the past, the future, and the present, in her very hands. And she knew of many things she wished she could change. But wasn't it safer leaving things as they were? Wasn't it better?

She closed her eyes, trying to think of answers, but came up with nothing but chaos...

**Author Notes:** Montague is pronounced - Mon-ta-hue


	3. Chapter 2 point 5

NOTES: Ok it seems I have confused certain people and I feel the need to explain how this guys situation worked and how the book still existed.

**Story Info**

1) Montague accidentally screws over a spell, and finds something new.

2) He tests and tests and tests, and as Mazoku problems are becoming more frequent and danger is slowly increasing, he leaps into it himself.

3) Bare in mind this was his time line, he went into the past, his mere presence there changed things because he was in there long enough to settle down and discover a way back. There's a story behind what happened while there, and why Luna suddenly went from being the slayer of Shabranigdo, to not being... But I ain't about to tell it.

4) He's in the past, he returns to the present once discovering the way of doing so. He finds a COMPLETELY different future than what he was in. And this new future, is Lina and Company's present. Meaning because he went into the past, Lina's story came to be.

5) He was so unprepared for such a drastic change he used the spell again to go back in the past, but instead, it didn't send him as far as it did the first time. In fact, he was then in the time period when Rezo was about, I had decided probably thirty years before Zel was turned into a chimera.

6) So the book went to Rezo, and Montague killed himself. So he died in that time period. He still existed because the spell ensures that the caster will exist, unless they are killed, or their other self is killed. (I am beginning to confuse myself, and beginning to work around problems that I am now seeing...)

7) I'm saying cause he went in the past, he changed it enough that instead of Luna being the heroine, Lina and CO. are. But he was still born, just under different circumstances.

8) Overall I also think that because he gave the book, just because he died doesn't mean the book will. That's why it still exists. You may or will find MANY loopholes in my theory but I never was one for very good ideas, so you'll have to forgive my mistakes, I am doing my best. And I will continue thank you for reading enjoy the story. ;

-The Author, L.I.T.D.


	4. Chapter 3 An Order to Fulfill

Chapter 3 

An Order to Fulfill 

"_After the party, someone always ends up cleaning the mess..."_

A soft whirl of wind and magic, a rustling of clothes, and than a low bow to show unwavering loyalty...

"My Mistress Beast Master, what is it you need of me?" his smooth voice carried over to her in the silence and gloom.

"Xellos, remember, quite some time ago, the 'messy business' we had to deal with?"

Xellos paused uncertain, "Which messy business?" (1)

"The one dealing with time and the sorcerer Montague?"

"No, my mistress..." he bowed his head low. He had no idea what she was talking about, and he usually had a sharp memory.

Zellas sighed, "I was afraid of this..."

"Of what my mistress?"

"This is going to be a very... difficult thing to explain, you may rise my priest, for this will not be brief." He did as she bid, (2) and she continued, "Imagine you will, a colored thread Xellos, on one end we shall have the past, in the middle the present, and the end will be the future. A sorcerer from the future, on this... 'world' we shall dub it, discovered a time traveling spell and started gaining the attention of monsters. Now this was just a man, some reasoned, send lower level monsters to finish him off, but myself and Dynast both knew that if this man could create a time traveling spell, he most likely could not be beaten easily. But we let them try. Before they could destroy this man whom we had deemed a threat he went to the far end of the string, the past, by this spell. Avoiding our killing him.

The minute he disappeared the higher lords knew things would change, but how we did not know. For there were many possibilities to what would happen. One was that by going in the past he'd create an alternate universe to this world, and we would be left be, or, this world would be changed from the past, and we'd have no control over it. Unfortunately, things did not stay as simple as an alternate universe. What DID happen, and you WERE there for it, was things started changing. Only the higher level Mazoku were able to be left out of the change." She paused to sip some of her wine in a glass beside her.

"Mistress, how is it we... you and the other Monsters were not affected?"

"It seems that what was mostly changing, was the outside world, now the astral plains were also chaotic too with the differences happening, but instead of slowly wiping us out, or transforming and changing the Mazoku Lords, it seemed to mold around the higher Mazoku, in protection. It was the lower monsters that were changed, some even disappeared. We believe we were not affected because of the fact L–Sama would still have created the four highest lords, and Shabranigdo would still have created us, and we still would have created our generals and priests... Even now I'm not sure if that's the correct answer." She sighed and shook her head. "All we have are theories, only L-Sama her self knows the truth. I suppose maybe she WANTED us higher Mazoku to know; only two dragons were powerful enough and deemed 'worthy' I suppose, by this spell. Only two survived the change. One is dead, that was Filia's leader. The other dragon, the remaining one with the truth, is Milgazia." Xellos opened his eyes to start at her, Milgazia-san knew?

"As to why you may have forgotten, the magic must have slowly started wearing away your memories of the occurrence, as it did the other priests and generals. But this is not what is important, that book is dangerous. The spell causes unimaginable damage under certain circumstances... And it's dangerous, unfortunately no human knows this. It was given to the Red Priest by this man, to guard, by the time we had finally caught up with this time bouncer, he was technically in the middle part of the string. We had learned that he was giving it to Rezo, and to a point we could control the red priest, as could Lord Shabranigdo, because of the piece inside him. So we did not worry too much about the safe keeping of the book, unfortunately the problem remaining was that the sorcerer still held the knowledge of the magic, and we still had to kill him. But he saved us the trouble, and that very night he poisoned himself, and died in his sleep." She paused, unused to having to talk so much.

"And what is it you need me to do that connects with this story?"

"Lina Inverse has found that book," Xellos' muscles stiffened and his face went conveniently blank. "Observe her for as long as you need to find out how much she knows, her friends too. If they know, if they can cast that spell, they must be killed... If all they know is the story, bring the book to me, that I may decide whether to hide it within my library, or destroy it myself. I suggest not showing your face to them though... They would get suspicious if you did."

"Yes, my mistress."

"You may go now Xellos, serve me well."

"As I shall always do," he bowed, and then disappeared within a blink of an eye.

1) Too many 'messy' occurances have happened in his time of service. You really expect him to memorize each one?

2) Look it rhymes!


	5. Chapter 4 Knowledge has a Price

The ever so slightly longer chapter, (hey it's six pages...) Dedicated to Xelena, ShadowDancer, and my other reviewers.

Chapter 4

The First Scream

Lina clambered down from the wagon that she had been riding in and slung her pack on her shoulder.

"Miss Lina! Miss Lina! Did you find anything?!" Amelia came rushing over to glomp her in a tight hug.

"Ack!" she stumbled and fell beneath the princess. "The PAIN!"

"Amelia you should be more careful when hugging people, the least you could do is kill them in the process instead of leaving them alive to suffer." A soft tenor voice spoke up with amusement.

"Zel?" Lina wheezed out his name as she sat up. Amelia was pushed up and was propped up on her knees. "Where'd you come from?"

He shrugged with a smile. "I came from the next town over. I had heard news about the construction site at Sairaag and knew that Seyrune was looking for Rezo's laboratory. Figured our little princess might know something about it."

"Oh..." she stood up. "Well I was only at the place for four days or so. So I didn't get much studying done. It was all quite a hassle. So we'll be doing a lot of reading I imagine. I did find something else of interest though."

"You can tell us inside! I'm starving!" Amelia dragged Lina and started running, "Unload all these books in my sitting room!" she ordered to the men.

Inside Amelia's sitting room, Gourry was munching on cookies.

"Hiya Wina!" his voice was garbled by the cookie he had forgotten to swallow.

"Hi Gourry. Now where's the food?!"

After an hour of eating they're trays and leftovers were taken away and the room had the smell of dust in it. The books piled around them in stacks.

"So Lina, what was it you found, now that your mouth is free of your food." Zelgadis grabbed the glass of water on the table and took a drink.

"Well... It was this." She pulled out the book and he raised an eyebrow at it. "It's a journal of some guy named Montag (1) or whatever... Anyway it seems he was a time traveler. He accidentally found out how to travel through time, and in the end he forked this book over to Rezo and Rezo put it into hiding. It even has the spell inside of it."

Zelgadis and Amelia's face read interest, Gourry's read... Take a guess.

If you guessed, 'Confusion' you win the door prize.

"So?" he asked.

"That means we have the means of traveling through time, even the ability to change it." Zelgadis explained.

"Think of all the good things you could do!" Amelia said. "You could change so many things, the death of a loved one, the destruction of a city, those could be stopped or changed!"

"Exactly!" Lina said. "Think of all the treasure we could find!"

Zelgadis frowned, "Lina, I'm not sure if you're experienced with time traveling..."

Lina snorted. "You don't know the half of it. If you ever meet a Rowdy Gabriev-"she cut off, as for the first time with the group, she remembered a certain adventure. "Rowdy... Gabri... ev... "She turned to Gourry, eyes wide and unblinking. As her mind calculated: Same hair. Same eyes. Same facial face.

Same damn sword of light that she had tried to weasel from Rowdy in the past...

"Mother of Ceipheed on a stage coach! Gourry, is there ANYONE in your family whose... oh, yea short," she put her hand to waist level, "Really old, and has the name 'Rowdy'?"

"Hmm... I know we have a grandpa!" he said wisely. "Then there's grandma Melaroon-"

Lina's eye twitched, "Later on you and I are going on a little trip in which I meet your family."

"Huh? Why?"

"Cause when I find your grandfather, I'm gonna kick his ass! He was the guy who threw me into the past to help him, and didn't even give me a reward!"

Zelgadis, Amelia, and Gourry stared at her as if she had gone quite mad.

"Lina-san, do you need a nap or something?" Amelia asked.

"NO! I'm not crazy, Rowdy Gabriev threw me into the past to help save the elves who had been killed by some demon-"

"And what happened when you came back Lina?" Zelgadis interrupted.

"Well I went to this queen and king who had offered me a reward to kill the demon and they said that we had never met before... Oh." She than realized his point.

"If we go into the past, you can change things in the future excessively so. That kind of thing can only lead to trouble. What if Lina got attacked and decided to throw a dragon slave? The area would be decimated, and we run the risk of maybe two days from then was when a noble decided to build a castle on that ground, and it would have grown into some kingdom like Seyrune. You could screw over a lot of things. If in that blast someone is accidentally killed, you may have wiped out someone's life who could have been, had that person survived."

Amelia's happy attitude towards the possibility of time travel slowly decreased. "Maybe it isn't so wonderful after all..." she muttered.

Lina sighed, "I see your point. But there's no harm in reading it is there?"

Zelgadis shook his head. "Do what you wish, I just think we'd all be a lot better off not knowing the spell at all. There has to be a reason as to why it was hidden."

"Miss Lina, may I read this book while you and Zelgadis-san search for ..."

"Sure, be my guest." She gave Amelia the book and then sat back and began to read in earnest.

"Lets get started with your cure Zel." She went over to a pile of books and threw him two, than grabbed two for herself.

As they began to get to reading, even Gourry tried helping, a figure masked in the dark, and hidden by magic, was watching them. Well it seemed that all they knew so far was the journal... But if that princess kept reading ... It looked like she'd have to go. Xellos couldn't just grab the book from the princess' hands. He'd have to wait till she set it down and they left, or tonight when they were asleep. He didn't want them knowing he had taken it, so he'd have to be just a little sneaky about getting it.

'Stop reading the damn thing.' He thought at Amelia. He really had no desire to kill them, in fact, he was very sure he didn't want to. They were just ALL so amusing. Not to mention they were the closest things to, 'friends' or companions he had. Not that he talked to them all that much. But they were all an interesting bunch. There wouldn't be anyone like them ever again. Such a shame.

For an hour he just sat there in the air watching, when Amelia piped up, "Miss Lina, this spell, you don't need anything for it, just words really. Looking at the basics of this spell, even I could cast it! It's really very simple! Well to someone like us anyway..."

Lina went over and took the book and began reading, "Really? I hadn't even gotten that far, well I did... it's just that I was busy reading his darned journal I didn't even reach how the spell was done."

Xellos wanted to hit his head against the wall, _'Don't read it then! It'll make my job so much easier! If you haven't read it keep it that... why is it she never listens?'_ he shook his head.

"Zel it is pretty simple. Here, take a look!"

'Yes, take a look Zelgadis, if we're going to die, we might as well take you with us.' Xellos rolled his eyes behind closed lids. Should he do something? _'Just say '**no'** Zelgadis.' _(2)

"Oh I see... Well the first steps are easy." He gave the book back.

"Did you even read it? You only read for a second." Lina said.

"I only read the first two steps Lina, I'm really not interested."

"Well look here..." she tried to explain but he raised his hand to stop her.

"I want no part in this Lina."

"Fine."

Amelia had taken the book from Lina and skipped through, "It's the getting back that's the hard part. You need things for the spell, Amerinthian flowers, honey made by some weird bee, I can't even pronounce the name-"

As Xellos was listening still debating whether or not to interfere, he heard Zellas mentally.

'_Xellos, how is your mission coming?'_

'_They... Miss Lina, and Amelia... They... read the book.' _For one brief moment he almost didn't want to say anything.

'_The Chimera and swordsman?'_

'_They want no part of it-'_

'_I see... You know what you must do now Xellos.'_

He turned very serious, _'Yes Mistress...'_

'_Kill them.'_

'_When my mistress? Now? Tonight?'_

'_They must not be able to spread their knowledge, but if you attack them now, it will make things difficult since they are all together... Kill them tonight, one at a time.'_

Xellos lowered his head, _'Of course.'_

His mind felt empty as she shut off the connection. _'I must kill them.' _With that, he disappeared out of the castle for some ice cream. Ice cream always helped get his mind off of things.

Six hours later around seven o' clock, they ad gotten through only a third of the books.

"Don't worry Zelgadis, I'm sure we'll find you're cure, and if not, this isn't the last place on earth!" Amelia smiled at him and he sighed.

"Sure Amelia."

"Well I'm heading to bed guys. We'll continue this tomorrow round eleven a.m." Lina then grabbed the book and went to her room.

"Mr. Zelgadis, why don't you grab some of those books and we can read some more in my room for a while."

Zelgadis thought for a moment then nodded, "Sure Amelia. Go ahead and I'll be there with the books."

"Alright, do you think we should wake up Mr. Gourry? He must have gotten really bored to have fallen asleep while we read."

"These are books, to him he'd have more fun throwing stones at fish in water."

"True." She then left the room and he went over to Gourry.

"Hey Gourry wake up." Gourry snored away. "Never mind." Zelgadis grabbed four books and then left the room, shutting the door behind him.

As he walked down the halls he looked to the candles lighting his way. Simple but nice... Other parts of the castle were decorated a lot... It was then he heard a muffled scream, and then silence. Amelia's room and his were the only ones in this wing besides her extra rooms... Meaning...

"Amelia!" he began running down the hall, his Mazoku speed starting. As he reached her door he twisted the golden knob but it stayed still. Throwing all of his two hundred and fifty pounds (3) of weight into it, the door frame splintered and he burst in, in enough time to see Xellos hit Amelia with a blast of black energy, he then whirled his staff and in one fluent motion, struck her in the head, killing her instantly. Her bloody body fell to the floor and Xellos looked up to Zelgadis.

'_Kuso.' _Xellos thought, _'I thought I had thrown up the sound barrier fast enough...'_

Xellos put himself into a defensive stance; somehow he knew this was not going to be an easy fight as he looked into Zelgadis' eyes enraged eyes...

**Notes:**

1) Montag? Isn't that a washing machine brand?

2) Snickers.

3) COME ON.... the guys made of ROCK. He may be gorgeous, trim and fit, but stone doesn't make him any lighter. Need I remind you people of the episode where he was used as an ANCHOR?


	6. Chapter 5 Screams in the Night

Chapter 5

Screams In The Night 

_"Screams in the night,_

_Like a choir of demons,_

_Rise above in rivers of fright._

_Alone, and lost, the damaged souls,_

_You'll never be able to heal them..."_

- L.I.T.D

Zelgadis' blood had turned cold as one of his worse nightmares came true before his eyes, Amelia's body just lying there, bloody, lifeless... Hate, anger beyond words, and vengeance burned in his mind, body, and soul like a tsunami. He raised his gaze up to the murderer and his eyes went cold, dead to caring, except for his rage.

"You... have just signed and sealed your death warrant Mazoku." His voice was cold, even, and covering emotions that he was trying to control. His hand went to the hilt of his sword, "I am going to make you suffer ten times as much as anyone you have ever tortured!"

Immediately, and instantaneous to the words he had said, he threw one of the most powerful Ra Tilts he had ever been able to create, at Xellos. Xellos disappeared but even though he was on the astral plain, moving to dodge the blast, the spell still caught him head on, he was thrown backwards and he slammed into nothingness as the astral plains flickered, then disappeared leaving him in the real world to face the psychotic chimera...

...Who was rushing at him with his sword up, enhanced already with an astral vine.

"Shimata!" he teleported behind the chimera and swung his staff around to hit him in the back, it connected, and threw Zelgadis to the ground, the sword fell with him, ripping up the carpet, but Zelgadis was up in a flash of beige and blue and attacking again.

Xellos blocked each blow with his staff, "Zelgadis my quarrel is not with you!"

"It was the minute you touched Amelia!" he lunged at Xellos who easily dodged.

'_He loved her... Just great.'_ Xellos didn't want to have to take more energy than necessary, all he wanted was to finish the damn business, and be left alone to wallow in the Mazoku version of regret for having to kill these people.

But _no_, that couldn't happen, because he had a mentally unstable chimera after his blood. And because of his uncontrolled emotions, the chimera's powers had tripled. Making him an opponent to be reckoned with. If this kept up Xellos could seriously be hurt.

As Zelgadis threw a powerful elemekia lance, and a dug hut following, Xellos nearly sighed.

'_It looks like I'm going to have to destroy him too.' _He frowned. "Your choice Chimera." He said the word chimera with venom, as if it was worth nothing more than a thing not worth dealing with.

Xellos teleported away and re-appeared directly behind Zelgadis, immediately throwing one of his stronger spells at him. It ripped through Zel's body and he fell forward, nearly dead, but still alive.

It was then Zelgadis realized Xellos hadn't even been trying.

"D-Damn you... you murderer." He turned on his back and as a parting gesture through his last spell, "RA TILT!" he choked on his own blood as he aimed his hand towards Xellos.

Xellos dodged it, but the power itself still hurt him, he walked over to the chimera's prone form that was slowly trying to move toward Amelia.

"I could have left you alive. You didn't read the book Zelgadis."

'_The book? I knew we should have burned the damn thing...'_ Zelgadis thoughts moved quicker then his speech ever could have been, and he reached out and grabbed Amelia's still warm hand, "Ais.. aishiteru..." he coughed up some blood and laid his head on the carpet, willing himself into darkness, not caring about Xellos anymore.

Xellos looked down to the two and using his powers, lifted them up, and placed them on Amelia's bed, side by side. He than went over and found Zelgadis' hand still holding Amelia's.

It was the least he could do for them. "Sorry Zel, but I have one more Sorceress to greet tonight." Zel's choked as his body slowly died. Xellos then walked out of the room; he wanted to delay the last murder for the night as long as he could.

"Gourry what are you doing here?"

"I woke up in the library alone and I wanted to know what was going on Lina."

"What's going on is, I'm tired, and you fell asleep so I left you there. Meaning go get sleep we have more work to do in the morning." She replied irritably.

"Can't we talk Lina? I've got the creeps and I just wanna talk for a bit."

Lina sighed but gave in. "Fine, fine, get in before I change my mind."

Gourry walked in and plopped down on her bed and she frowned, he had taken her spot. She walked over to the window seat and sat down.

"So what do you want to talk about Gourry?"

"Um... I dunno, how about... What you did before I became your guardian."

She sighed, "Blah... I traveled with a tall bimbo named Naga, got paid for doing jobs, usually helped with various things..." she yawned. "Why do I have to talk, I'm tired, why don't you just go to bed..."

Snores answered.

"Damn it Gourry!" she face faulted out of her seat then pulled herself back up. "Fine... but I'm only gonna leave ya there for an hour."

For ten minutes she stared out the window when she heard footsteps stop at her door, and her knob slowly turn. Who would be coming into HER room without her permission? She moved quickly, readying up a fireball and dashed to Gourry silently, with one hand she covered his mouth, and than leaving the fireball in the air, shook him.

When he opened his eyes, he saw her, the fireball and nearly panicked.

"Shhh..." she said quietly. As the door creaked open he jumped off the bed in start and was beside her in a moment.

Xellos' shadow fell on the floor and the lit candles threw shadows across his figure.

"Xellos. What do you want? It's late!" she brought the fireball back into her hand.

"I'm sorry Lina but I must be with you alone. You and I have something to discuss."

"What?"

"The book."

"Well anything that you have to say can be said in front of him too."

"If you really want him to die with you. I tire of fighting lovers who defend each other."

Lina blinked. What was he talking about? She didn't have any lover. "Huh?"

A red lance aimed at her chest was her answer; her body automatically and instinctively turned to the side to dodge it, but was still hit by it below her ribs. She felt the sting of black power seep into her blood and she winced. That had hurt. Gourry's sword was up in an instant, without the hikari no ken, how the hell was he to protect her?

"Gourry don't be a fool, you can't fight him with a regular sword!" she threw her fireball at Xellos and it missed, hitting the wall behind him and scorched it. Then a flare arrow and flare bit, some hit but really caused minimal, if ANY, damage... to Xellos that is. The room on the other hand...

"Miss Lina, you should know better, not even Zelgadis lived to cause too much damage to me. And his powers were level with yours at the time."

Lina's stomach dropped, "What do you mean?"

"The princess and her love will forever remain within each others arms, lying in their own pools of blood. And I'm sorry, but I cannot let you live either." With demon speed he flew at her, his fist connected with her stomach and sent her flying into her table with a painful crash.

Gourry's reaction followed swiftly, his sword ripped through the back of Xellos' shirt, parting his skin, but it did not cause him any pain what so ever. He whirled around and punched Gourry in the face and sent a flare arrow after him. It pierced his shoulder and burned away at his armour and he winced as he dove at Xellos again, aiming to use physical strength against him.

At the same time Lina had stood up and thrown a very powerful blast ash at Xellos. He winced but it was nothing he couldn't handle. For minutes the three of them fought, and finally disliking the fact Gourry was becoming quite a nuisance, he threw a large fireball at him which Gourry tried to dodge but still was thrown into the wall by the blast, he than fell forward to show the wall had been indented from the force. His body ceased to move after that.

Lina's hope died away with her as she saw Gourry's body still. What was she going to do? She was alone. She had never been alone like this before... Never. Her immediate reaction was delay, run, run to live. She threw a strong light spell into the air that flashed brightly, in hopes to blind the Mazoku temporarily, or at least disorient him, and than shoved her window open and flew out.

She flew over the gardens to the other side of the palace, all the while thinking frantically. She was facing one of the most powerful Mazoku's, aside from the five dark lords. How was she going to beat him? She had fought Shabranigdo before so maybe she had a chance...

'_But only a PIECE of him,' _her mind cheerily added in.

'_I beat copy Rezo.'_ She thought back.

'_Yah with help, a sword, and luck. Besides... he wasn't a Mazoku... even if he did have Zanaffar to help boost his power.'_

'_I held the Lord of Nightmares within me.'_

'_Yes but even then that nearly destroyed you. Had it not been for Gourry you would have remained with L-Sama in the sea of chaos.'_

'_Gourry...'_

She felt her throat tighten as her vision shimmered. Shit, her friends...

If only this hadn't happened! What was she going to do? What was she- -

'_Back up,' _her mind shouted, _'What was it you just said?'_

'_I said, 'If only this hadn't happened!' ... Hadn't happened... I could change this! I could stop this!'_

'_But remember what Zelgadis said,' _her other self contradicted, _'It could change things drastically... possibly even for the worse.'_

'_But my friends... If I don't they'll still die and then I'll die. And I don't want to die too! I have to find a way to fix this... And I know how too. Casting it isn't that hard.'_

'_But you don't know how to get back.'_

'_Amelia's room! Maybe he left the book... or they hid it.' _She flew into the nearest open window; thankful it was a hall entrance and started running.

For nearly a minute she ran, Amelia's room.... Where was it? Left down this corridor, down the stairs with the creaky steps... then another right... then up... I hate castles!!!

She found herself in the hall and started running to the room, further down the hall the candles were out, she flew into the bedroom and stopped, her heart pounding.

Oh gods.

"Amelia! Zelgadis!" she ran over to the bed and shook Zelgadis, "Please wake up! I need your help! You can't be dead! Please..." she backed away from the bed her lungs strained, her head hurting, "I'm going to die if I don't find the book..." she looked through the room quickly and as she was searching the drawers of the dresser she heard a pleasant tapping on the pane of the glass window.

The moment she heard the sound her heart skipped a beat, yet she found the book open off to the right of the dresser. Conveniently on the needed page. Her eyes traced over the words faster than lightning at the same time as she grabbed the book.

She turned her head to look outside the large window, she screamed in panic. Lo and behold there was Xellos levitating in view, full moon illuminating, yet darkening his features, the figure of him was terrifying, his face shadowed, yet his eyes... his unearthly eyes seemed to glow as he looked at her, a small sinister smile on his face. He was the face of death itself, and he'd come for her.

The next moment the window shattered and finally shouts were heard from the guards down below.

"Tsk tsk, Miss Lina, running out on me like that. Naughty, naughty you."

A thrill of terror went through her body and straight to her throat at the words but she didn't retort. Instead she flew out the bedroom slamming the door behind her and went the opposite direction from where she came from, and not a mere foot into running, she tripped. The wind knocked out of her, she fought her screaming muscles, feeling her way on the carpet and found the book, she sighed in relief until she stood, and than bumped into something... Correction: someone.

"Excuse you Lina." The cheery voice said, "Now really, the game of cat and mouse HAS been fun but I must be taking that book along with your life, Beast Masters orders, you understand, ne?

She jumped back and threw a fireball and ran back the other way down the stairs.

Do it NOW! Now or you'll never live to cast it!

Her mind immediately went into chanting and concentrating, she was half way down the stairs when a portal at the bottom began opening up. She began running faster as she started saying aloud the finishing words needed to stabilize the spell.

"NO! Flare lance!" Xellos shot millions of fiery arrows off at her as they hurled down the stairs. She felt them slice into her legs, arms, one hit her in her back, and another into her thigh but she kept running until her legs couldn't support her from the shock of pain, and she fell; tumbling, spell finished, right into the portal, which closed up as she went unconscious on the other side.

"DAMN IT ALL!" was the last cry of fury as she disappeared.


	7. Chapter 6 A Lovely Watch

Chapter 6

A 'Lovely' Walk

"_Pain is a good thing, it lets you know you're still alive."_

Lina's body was hurting, protesting, and as soon as it had enough strength, it let her know just _how much_ it was going to. Unconscious or not. She slowly woke up to a hot wind blowing against her, and the sounds of water rushing against stones.

Her first thought was, 'What the hell...' Second thought, 'Damn sun... who had to make it so bright?' and third, er, a rather inappropriate word.

Pain may be your 'Friend' but it didn't mean it hurt any less...

"ECH...." she rolled onto her stomach, pushed herself up, then opened her eyes. From the looks of it, it was going into the afternoon... a nice hot one. "Doko desu... Shoot."

The spell... the portal... Xellos. Gourry. Death...

"Darn it." she stood up and immediately fell back down. "Fine I'll just stay here than." as she looked herself over she realized just how bad she had come out of that 'minor' battle. Torn clothes, no, check that, torn bloody clothes, bruises galore, and blood decorated her body gloriously.

"Healing power flowing white..." the simple spell which should have easily gone off without too much trouble didn't go off. In fact, within her she hadn't felt the magical charge spread through out her either. She felt empty. "Why is it I always lose my powers?! Not Martina, not Zelgadis, or Ame..." her voice cut off as her memories interrupted her words, causing her to feel the tightness in her throat to return. "Damn..." she forced herself up, legs trembling, head swimming, and began walking. All she had on her was her sorceress outfit complete with weapons and jewelry, a bag of fifteen gold, and the book. Nothing else, and she wasn't going to just start ripping up her nice expensive cloak as bandages for her wounds.

_'Might as well just go find the nearest town and find out what time period I'm in...'_ she stuffed the book into one of the larger pockets hidden in her cloak and limped her way through the grass. Twenty minutes of walking earned her the discovery of a dirt road that looked well traveled. She looked to her left, saw it led into the forest she had been walking away from, and then to her right, she saw off in the distance small little brown spots.

'Well I found the town at least.' she thought to herself sarcastically. She pressed forward towards the town or village, whichever it may be. The sun beat unmercifully upon her, heating her body, causing her to break into a sweat, her wounds which had been lightly scabbed over, or had slowed bleeding, had long since reopened, bleeding afresh. But she failed to notice, mistaking the feel of blood, for sweat.

_'Why am I so dizzy? This stupid heat.' _she tripped and caught herself in time before her face met the dirt road. _'I'm gonna throw up.'_ she crawled herself to the side of the road and collapsed on the grass. _'I just need to rest for a minute... or two.'_

Her mind sank back into painful unconsciousness and then into darkness where pain was nothing but a bad memory.

A tall man with long billowing crimson robes walked upon a long dusty road, aware that it was becoming dark for the air was cooling, and though he was blind, he walked with confidence, not tripping or stumbling once. His blind eyes could see things that we who could see, might never notice. As he hummed softly into the darkness of his own world his senses warned him of another presence.

But instead of a vagabond, threat, or normal villager, it was something helpless. Unmoving, the essence of the person in fact seemed to be dying out. It had been there for quite some time he supposed. Who ever it was, it had a very strong will to live. He patiently walked over to the body and spoke out softly, "Are you awake child?"

When nothing but silence answered him he reached out his hand and touched her shoulder. What he felt actually disturbed him. His hand had come in contact with a wound, an open one that had been bleeding and was still open. He moved his hand and shook her shoulder lightly, "Girl, wake up..."

As she shifted he felt silky long hair fall onto his hand, after another moments silence he began casting a very strong healing spell on her. Fifteen minutes went by with him healing her, and than his spell ended. He touched her shoulder and could feel her normal soft skin beneath the moist and dried blood. It seemed she was healed; he shook her shoulder again and heard a light snore.

He smiled lightly, "Very well than," placing his staff on the ground momentarily he picked up her up carefully and then picked up the staff without dropping her. He than began to walk back down the road, she was pleasantly light and small enough it didn't bother him to carry her. He wondered what had happened? Had vagabonds attacked her? Trolls? It would have to wait until she woke up.

Lina yawned widely as she forced herself awake. She opened her eyes to find herself in a room with wood walls and crudely made furniture. She sat up and could see the sun was all ready up without her, and a dog's rough bark sounded from below.

"Where am I? Oh man, everything is so muddled, what was a dream and what's reality?" she rubbed her hand against her eyes. She stood up and saw her outfit was restored, her cape and shoes neatly placed on a chair which was beside a table with wash water and a brush.

So figuring there was no harm in doing so, she cleaned herself up, grabbed her things and was all but ready to leave the room when a soft knock sounded.

"Who is it?" she immediately had her guard up, she had no idea where she was, how she got there, and most importantly what might be after her.

"The person who saved your life." the soft voice spoke smoothly, calmly, and truthfully. Lina had an ability to tell when things were off, and it wasn't going off in the truth area... But something about his voice was sending alarm bells in her head. Why though?

"Fine, you can come in, but any funny business I'll fireball you out of this world."

There was a pause of silence, 'She knows magic? Of course, she was wearing a cape... and her clothes were not that of peasants. I should have guessed as much...' Rezo thought to himself.

"I understand." the door knob slowly turned and than the door was opened, as he walked in he heard her drop something with a solid thump as she gasped and took a step back. He could sense, see (astral sight), and hear all this. What was wrong?

"REZO!"

TBC

**Notes: **Aren't you just beginning to hate me?


	8. Chapter 7 Meeting Old and New Aquaintanc...

Chapter 7

Meeting Old and New Acquaintances

Lina's fireball was in her hand in a moment, ready to have a fight with the man whom had tried to kill her twice before. Well once... The copy didn't count. Sort of.

"What are you doing?! Is this how you thank someone who saved your life?!" he shouted at her in anger, his staff before him in an instant, ready to defend himself from her magic. Her powers were strong, he could sense that from her aura surrounding her, normal humans wouldn't have seen it but because of his astral sight he could.

Lina's mind raced. He had saved her, he was acting like he didn't know her, and he _seemed_ to be genuinely confused. "Where am I, why am I here, and what year is it?" her mouth spurted off before her mind could cut off the last question.

Rezo raised an eyebrow, _'What YEAR is it?'_, what kind of question was that? He kept that thought silent for the moment, "You're here because I found you on the side of the road half dead and wounded severely, which I am curious to know HOW you got wounded like that... While I was doing the healing spell I thought it was a troll or bandit but it took far longer then it should have to heal you and although it had passed my mind at the time, there was a slight tint of dark magic within some of the worse wounds. Meaning you were in a fight with a sorcerer, possibly a low level monster, I doubt there would have been anything left had it been a powerful monster."

Lina could have let out a bitter laugh, "That's what you think." she muttered. Rezo heard this and would have asked for clarification but she spoke again before he could, "Ok, you answered why, now _where_."

"You're in a hotel in a little village called Terrin, near Gyria."

"I'm near the Kataart Mountains??"

"Hm, quite a way from it, but near enough." he stated. "I suppose you want to know the year?" Lina remained still for a moment before she nodded. "What year shall you have me go by? Seyrune? Zefilia?"

"Either."

"Prince Phillionel's thirty-sixth birthday has passed by four new moons ago, the Princess Amelia's eleventh birthday shall be in two moons, does that help?"

'_No, because now I gotta do math.'_ She thought to herself as she grabbed a piece of chalk outta one of her mysterious pockets and used the floor as her paper. "Lessee, Amelia was turning seventeen in two weeks... now she's eleven, that's... six years in the past... meaning whoa, I didn't know Phillionel was forty-two." she mused softly. Rezo's face went blank as he listened to her ramble. Either she was completely insane, or, there was something going on here. He was betting on the second.

"I don't suppose it would trouble you to try and help me figure out what on earth you are talking about?" Lina turned her head to him, "And what your name is."

'_Should I tell him? I don't suppose it could kill anything technically, I mean he won't be meeting me for... um... three years, I think. No, four, no wait... ok Amelia's eleven so I'm twelve, ok, I was right, three years...' _she thought all this out before answering him.

"My name, is Lina. You wouldn't believe me if I told you what I was talking about."

"You'd be surprised what I'd believe. The things I have seen in my lifetime..."

"I'm sorry great priest, I can't tell you."

"How were you wounded?"

"I was being attacked by a former.... friend. Though I don't really think you could call him that."

"A dark sorcerer?"

"That's one way of putting it. Another would be saying Xellos is a Mazoku, what else could I expect?"

"Xellos?" he went silent, "The one who works under Greater Beast Master Zellas Metalium?"

She erked, "You know him?"

"I have read many books. And he happens to be in many of the dragon lore books. Mostly all I've seen is his name being mentioned, he was their main destructor in the war. He's a very powerful demon. A kind of bogeyman for the dragons. If you were fighting him, I suspect you would be dead now in normal circumstances."

"Oh... So why were you traveling?" changing subjects was a good thing right about now.

"Well I go about healing the ill and while I do I search for my own cure."

"Because of your--" her heart thumped, she could warn him about what lay behind his eyes, she could possibly stop him from. Or would Shabranigdo still slowly take over and still be reborn? If he wasn't reborn, she'd never have destroyed him, she never would have used the giga slave, and she never would have gained the fame among people, or interest in the Mazoku, meaning that there was a possibility she would never have gone through the whole Gaav scenario, meaning no Phibrizzo, Gourry would never have been kidnaped, the Lord of Nightmares never would have possessed her, and than the new world wouldn't open and she never would have been able to stop Valgaav, but than, if Gaav was still alive Val wouldn't have done...

"WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO HAVE SUCH SEVERE CONSEQUENCES?!?" she blushed as she realized she had shouted out the last part. "Oops." she smacked her hand against her forehead.

"What is it that you are so worried over?"

"If you were thrown into the past because you wanted to save some people's lives, but in the process had the chance to maybe keep something really bad from happening- Would you... Oh never mind, I can't explain it!!!"

"... I see. Well what if you and I continue this later on? I am meeting my granddaughter and grandson in law at their home, and I'll be visiting my great grandson, I have to... check up on him. But you and I could talk there perhaps."

Lina went silent, "All right." she grabbed her things and soon enough they were on their way walking, it turned out on the other side of the village there was a well to do house, and it belonged to his family. It was two stories high and about three and a half good-sized rooms wide. "Nice." she muttered. It was in good condition, and grass grew from fifty feet in front of it, up to it's steps. Some rose bushes were clumped together and there was a medium sized stable off to the left.

Rezo walked up to the house with her following behind him and he knocked on the door. After a few moments a woman opened the door dressed in a blue gingham dress that reached mid calf, it was short sleeved, and a white apron was tied around her waist. Curls of light blue hair fell to her shoulders, the rest was pulled into an up sweep. Her eyes were the color of amber and her smile lit up her face. "Grandfather!" and to Lina's surprise she leapt into his arms hugging him tightly.

Lina saddened as she watched the endearing scene. This was something very rare to witness, she was sure.

"It's been a while Melandy. How is that in law of mine? Treating you well?"

She smiled, "Oh Rendal has treated me lovingly since the day we married, I want for nothing, but another child." she added with a smile.

Rezo smiled, "Well I cannot help you with that," he said with a small laugh, "Oh," he stepped to the side to show Lina to Melandy, "I found this young lady in need of help by the roadside, and right now she is traveling with me. Her name is Lina."

"Just Lina?"

"No... I just try not to give out my last name." she said.

"Oh, well you two come in and rest, I have lemonade and fresh Snickerdoodles out of the oven." (Snickerdoodles ROCK! Yummy cookies!)

They stepped into the freshly aired house and Lina felt as if she had lived there since childhood. The curtains were blue lace with a sheer white cloth behind them, the walls were painted white, wood stairs and banister, the floor entrance was made of marble, and the smell of roses hung in the air. As they entered the cheerful sitting room she eased herself into one of the comfortable sofas.

_'Wow, this isn't half bad.'_ she thought to herself. "You have a really good place here." She added verbally.

"Oh, why thank you." she smiled prettily and set a porcelain plate before them with two dozen cookies on it. "Eat what you will, I'll get Rendal and Zelgadis-"

Lina snorted her lemonade up her nose as the cookie she had just swallowed tried to take a different route down her esophagus. Rezo raised his eyebrows in wonder and Melandy ran over to slap her on the back to dislodge the drink and cookie from her lungs. She coughed into the napkin and felt her eyes water up due to the drink that had taken the wrong passage. Namely her nose.

"Oh dear! Is something wrong Miss Lina? Is there something wrong with the food?" she said this with a light worry, Rezo had taken a bite of it and had no such reaction, "Are you allergic?"

"N...No! Of course not! I, uhh..." she coughed, "Just swallowed wrong... thank you for your help... I'll... umm do you have a place I could...?"

"Clean up? Of course, the kitchen is through those doors, I'll be right back than if you can manage."

"Yah, I can." she stood up and nearly dashed to the kitchen. 'Mental note, NEVER inhale lemonade, unless I have congestion....' She went to the sink and pushed the brass pump up and down a few times as water started coming out. She quickly removed her gloves and put her hands under the water, then splashed her face with it.

"Towel?"

"Yeah, sure, thanks-" she blindly reached out for the towel and as it fell into her hand put it to her face, then looked up. "AHHHH!!!" she jumped up about three feet.

Before her was a boy about three inches taller then her, who looked around fifteen or sixteen. He had violet blue hair that resembled Rezo's greatly, and crystal blue eyes, full of curiousness, but a bit of amusement. His skin was pale, but unmarked, and he wore black trousers, boots, and a white peasant shirt that was tucked in loosely, it was unbuttoned from the waist up, showing his toned stomach and chest.

Lina fought valiantly to keep her mouth from dropping and her eyes from wandering down his body in appreciation.

He lightly smirked, "And you are."

She valiantly fought for her vocal chords and after a moment was able to strain out, "Lina."

"Right... and why are you in my mothers kitchen?"

"I'm... with Rezo. She said I could clean up..." Lina's mind slowly started up again, though why her heart felt like it was pounding in her throat, she had no idea. She blushed slightly and laughed, "Um- I'm just visiting. You're Zelgadis?"

He blinked but nodded, "Yes."

"Whoa, you're... you... not quite how I imagined..." she saw his eyes searching her face and felt heat on the back of her neck. "I'm gonna just go that way, excuse me!" she brushed past him and placed the towel on the counter on her way out. She opened the door and quickly walked into the sitting room. Inside of it, Melandy and her husband Rendal were chatting with Rezo. It was apparent where Zel got his looks from, his father's hair was a light purple, long, crystal blue eyes, and very handsome. She smiled sheepishly, "Hi, I just need a..." she cut off as Zelgadis entered the room too. She blushed slightly and he raised an eyebrow at her and walked over to one of the couches, his intention being to sit down. She backed up towards the entrance way, "I need fresh air I'll be right back."

When they heard the front door shut Rezo lightly laughed as Zel's father let on a smirk, "Whatever could be the matter?" he looked to his son with a knowing gaze and Zel just shrugged and took a cookie.


	9. Chapter 8 Telling Truths and Making Plan...

Chapter 8

Telling Truths and Making Plans

Lina walked out to the grass and than seated herself down. How embarrassing. She had NEVER reacted like that to a person before, let alone a friend... er... guy... well, soon to be friend... Well you get the picture. No doubt they all were having a laugh in there. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hit her head against her knees. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid.

After five minutes of just sitting there she took a breath, she had to go back in and face them... obviously. But...

"Is the grass really so fascinating you just want to stare at it?" Zelgadis voice was younger, lighter, and actually for once didn't seem burdened with anything, but finishing his daily chores most likely.

"No I just didn't feel too well..."

"Really? Would you like to come in and rest?" he walked over to her and she looked up at him, "Sorry bout scaring you earlier by the way. So your name is Lina? Lina what?"

"It really doesn't matter does it?"

"Well, no not really, but I am awfully curious. Why were you out on the road alone?"

"It really wasn't my fault, I had barely made it out alive from a fight with a- monster." Better to imply something like a troll then say 'Mazoku' and mean Demon. "I tried healing myself but my powers were still drained from this spell I had cast."

"Well why are you still alive? Did you destroy him?"

"No. I escaped."

"So you're not being hunted? It was just a freak accident? You don't think anything's going to purposely jump you, do you?"

"I don't know." she shook her head. She _hoped_ Xellos couldn't perform the spell. Otherwise she could be in for a world of hurt.

"So how old are you?"

"You know that's a rather rude question. I am still a lady after all." Lina replied indignantly. Zelgadis had the grace to flush a bit, "I'm old enough to take care of myself and young enough to appreciate life. So while we're playing twenty questions, why do you want to be strong?"

_That_ threw him off guard, "What? How did you-?"

"Well you... never mind."

"..."

"Well are you gonna answer me?"

"I thought you said, 'never mind'."

"Yeah, but when I said 'never mind' I meant the kind of never mind that means, 'never mind how I know', not the kind of never mind that means, 'never mind the question'." Zelgadis just stared at her.

"Do you realize just how many times you said that one word in one sentence?"

"More then once, and less than ten."

Zelgadis laughed, "My fault for asking. Why don't you come on in? The snickerdoodles are delicious."

Lina smiled at the sound of his laughter, "Sure."

After Lina had cleaned the plate of the dozen cookies they had left her, in under a minute, the mother decided to cook lunch for her family and guests. "Lina, would you like to help me in the kitchen?"

Lina stared blankly, "For what?"

"To cook lunch of course." She laughed, how amusing, pretending she didn't know why a person would want help in the kitchen.

"Umm... the last time I was in a kitchen was when I was six years old. And I was being beaten for stealing a cookie at the time." Lina trailed off and the woman stopped laughing as her face went serious.

"You were beaten?" Rendal looked at her and there was concern in his eyes mixed with curiosity.

"It really isn't that big... it was eleven years ago and—"She stopped her sentence again. It was not her first sentence she had stopped in the middle of, and it wouldn't be her last. But this time it was because she realized she had given away her age.

Zelgadis raised an eyebrow, "Where were you born?"

"Zefielia, why?"

"By now you should have been married."

"Uhh..." how to bypass that comment...

"Well some prefer to wait Zelgadis-Chan. Well if it's been eleven years it's time to re-acquaint you with the kitchen than, you want to be a good wife for someone someday don't you?" Melandy stood up cheerfully, straightening her skirts.

"Actually, I don't want to marry." _That _earned her some looks. Rezo seemed to look at her in surprise, without truly doing so, and the father and Zelgadis just blinked.

"Well than look at it as, you don't want to starve or just survive on something like... oh say fish for example. So come now." She took Lina's hand and helped her up as Lina allowed herself to be dragged.

"What if I accidentally burn down your kitchen?!"

"We can make another." The door swung shut behind them.

One hour later flour was spilled on the flour, half made won-tons lay about, a piece of fried squid had dropped on the floor, and she had managed to spill the vinegar into the frying vegetables. On one of the kitchen tables some nicely made food had survived. On the other, chaos had left its mark. Below it an egg that had accidentally been dropped was cracked on the floor, yolk spilling out over the edges to the violet tiles, on the table itself flour, bowls with various ingredients in them decorated it's surface.

Lina was currently trying to fry some of the better made won-tons with Melandy's advisory.

"Ok now flip it over... Oh watch it, do it one at a time not all at once- Oh! No! Wait! Don't bother grabbing that it fell out into the fire- - hold on, watch it your apron! Hold still, the waters over there! Put the fire out! Hold still!" SPLASH, "Oh sorry about that, why don't you go get some air ok?"

Lina sighed and walked out the kitchen door into the living room and headed for the front, "I'm going outside, say a word and I'll fireball you."

Zelgadis and Rendal's had gone bug-eyed, Rezo was fighting back a smirk, over her sorceress outfit, (w/out the shoulder guards and stuff) she wore a pink apron which was covered in flour, splotches of jam, oil stains, and egg. She herself looked like a ghost because of the flour covering her.

As she walked out they all began to laugh.

"I don't know whether to cry or scream." She slowly stroked the mare's head gently as it neighed at her in reply. She had gone to the stable for refuge which had lasted about twenty minutes when she heard footsteps enter. "Why is it where ever I go, you show up?"

"Mother sent me to get you, I saw the kitchen, it looks like a battle field in there..."

"Yeah yeah. Shuddup." Her glare was ineffective because at that moment it was then that her new found friend began to start licking the flour off her, "Oi! Hey! Knock that!" She stepped away from the horse and Zelgadis chuckled.

"Well I can't remember when I've laughed this much but I'd like to eat, so shall we go?"

"Sure."

At the end of lunch Melandy, Zelgadis, and Lina ended up cleaning the entire kitchen. Lina was taken to a bath, and her clothes were taken away to be evaluated. And if the grease, flour, and scorch marks didn't prove to be too much, they were to be washed. So she was given a dress of Melandy's to wear for the time being. Thing is, she didn't know it was a dress until she stepped out of the bath to get dressed.

"What the heck?!" she lifted up the cloth to find it was a white dress which was calf length, short-puffy sleeves, slightly low cut, with a blue sash to tie around the waist. "What the heck is this? Aw man, not a dress... Melandy? Rendal? Zel? SOMEONE?!"

It was no use. On the second floor, no one could hear you scream. (hehe) So she got dressed into the outfit, put on her boots and walked down stairs. "Hello?"

"In here." Rezo's voice came from the left, she went in through the door and Rezo was seated in a plush chair, around the walls, were shelves and shelves of books. In the room was a desk, a chair behind it, and the two comfy chairs. "My, what a change Miss Lina, you do look quite nice in that dress."

Lina blushed, "I hate dresses. I haven't worn one in years..." well it was kinda the truth. Twice at most in the past ten years.

"I see. From what I've gathered your much more of a tom boy." Lina frowned, "That is not meant as an insult Miss Lina, only as an observation. Please sit." She did so, "Did you run away from home when you were a child?"

"Yes... how did you know?"

"A mere guess from fragments of what you have let me know my dear. So, now is the time for truth, why are you here?"

"Huh?" She blinked big clueless, innocent eyes at him.

"It's obvious you are not from here." his voice held a bit of scorn, " 'What year is it?'. It's that or you were put into a sleep and just woke up, actually there are many possibilities, but I just want the answer."

"I'm... here because I need to save my friends lives."

"I see. And their lives are in danger from what?"

"Xellos is going to kill them."

"When?"

"He... He already has." Lina wished to heaven she wasn't wearing a dress, she felt insecure and off balance without _her_ clothing. And this conversation was far from pleasant.

"So you're from the future." Lina remained silent, "Than how did you get here? Time travel isn't possible."

"Have you been given a certain book from a man by the name of 'Montague'?" Rezo went silent for a very long time himself before he nodded.

"Well... I'm from six years in the future, and I found where you placed the book, and because Amelia and I read it, we were going to be killed I guess... All my friends are dead because of it."

"And how are you planning on fixing this? You realize by traveling into the past you have a high possibility of changing your future _excessively _so. You're just lucky you didn't go before your own birth. Had you... you would have the possibility of not being born had something too drastic happened."

"I don't know how! One of the ways is destroying the book you have here. If you do, I'll never find it, and the copy I have will cease to be. I can't think of anything else!"

Rezo seemed to think about it. "At one time when he gave me that book, I thought of burning it, but I had no reason, it hadn't caused any harm that I could tell... but than again, going from Luna being the savior to Lina Inverse..." he looked up at her and his gaze was so intense Lina squirmed. "Are you, that Lina? Lina Inverse? Destroyer of Shabranigdo?"

She nodded, "Hai..."

"Why... how is he resurrected?"

"I can't tell you Rezo. It would change things a lot." She glanced out the window in the room and took a breath.

"And my grandson is involved with it."

"How did you-"

"I've read his journal. He mentions him, it surprised me to no end when much later on in my life, my granddaughter decided to name her son Zelgadis. Following what he had said, but my Great Grandson is no sorcerer. I know because I come here quite often to check on his magic capabilities. Or lack there of in this case."

"He may not be powerful yet, but he has GREAT potential, he and I are friends in the future... or at least, my future, and he's very powerful and strong."

"So he trained himself to learn those things... it seems impossible he should become powerful so quickly..."

"I can't explain." And she wasn't about to.

"Understood. Well it seems then that we shall have to go to my library and destroy the book. Since you found it you obviously know that my laboratory is in Sairaag."

"The ruins of it... Wait no, that's later, never mind..."

"But I suggest that you go back to your own time, by laws of the book, the spell back will take you back to the day you left your time line, it cannot take you into the future, for the future hasn't been written yet."

"So I'll be sent back to the same moment I was being attacked by Xellos, the same day my friends died?"

"Yes, but since I will have destroyed the book..." he paused. "Oh dear. This is a problem... I'm afraid you will have to burn your book here, and you'll have to cast the spell here with the book in the past, and once you leave, I'll have to burn the copy of the book, so when you return your world will have changed, but hopefully not too drastically."

Rezo frowned. Even to himself his words sounded wrong. No, that wouldn't work. There was a flaw with this whole plan. There had to be another way. But Lina seemed so intent on just trying to fix things that she'd missed the flaw in his plan. He would say nothing of it for the moment. Perhaps a solution would come to him given some time.

"All right sounds like a plan! So you're really going to do this?"

"Of course. Time travel should never have been in the first place, you and I can leave in the morning when we've had rest."

"Don't forget me." Zelgadis voice carried into the room, "I'm coming too."


	10. Chapter 9 Traveling's Fun

Chapter 9

Traveling's Fun!

(As long as you have morphine and a bag of Prozac)

Lina whirled around in surprise, she hadn't known he was there, but Rezo nodded, "I thought you were there."

"WAIT! You knew he was there?!" Lina's expression was indignant.

"Of course, didn't you?" Rezo's small humor was lost on her.

"I help you, and this man ... Gourry, take down Shabranigdo?" Zelgadis didn't have nearly enough worry on his face for having just been told he'd be face to face with Shabranigdo one day. Than again, Zelgadis never really knew too much about those higher demons as well as she had.

"Uh... yeah." She answered for Rezo.

"Well if I'm going to be some kind of fighter in the future I should probably start learning more. So I'm coming with, I'll do my best not to be an obligation."

"But- if you- - Fine." She sighed and slumped into her chair.

Rezo stood, "Well I for one wish to get this fixed as soon as humanly possible, the longer you stay here, the more your future will change. Be ready at seven o' clock tomorrow morning Miss Inv-" he stopped, then changed his mind on what he would address her as, "Miss Lina." He than departed.

Lina flopped onto the big cushiony purple chair and her dress puffed upwards as her hands reached out to keep it from showing anything. "Agh! Damn skirt!" she pushed the light fluffy layers down and brushed back her hair from her face, when she looked up to Zelgadis he was looking at her strangely, "What?"

"Nothing." He sat down.

"Zel, I have to know, how MUCH did you hear?"

"Well I had been walking by and I normally don't eavesdrop but I heard, 'Lina Inverse the destroyer of Shabranigdo'. And seeing as that was a very curious statement in itself... To hear my name be said afterwards... I couldn't help but listen."

"Damn... " She let out a breath, "Maybe I shouldn't have come back Zel, I'm gonna mess up everything."

"Maybe you shouldn't, but you did. And if you really shouldn't have, something would have stopped you from doing so. If you honestly believe you should have stayed there and died, than you would have. But you didn't. So be appreciative for a gift possibly only you, have ever been given."

"Always the level headed thinker." She smiled lightly, "But not the only one."

"I wouldn't know if you were. I was merely guessing."

"So I figured... Well I'm willing to go to bed, even if it is only five o' clock. Night Zelga-bunny." She smiled at his confused look.

"Pardon?"

"Oh nothing... inside joke. G'night!" she then went off for her fifteen hour nap.

"One hundred sixty-one, one hundred sixty-two, one hundred sixty-three, one hundred sixty-four, one hundred sixty-five, one hundred sixty-six, one hundred sixty-seven, one hundred sixty-eight, one hundred sixty-nine-"

"Lina, what on earth are you doing?" Zelgadis' weary, annoyed voice finally questioned what she had been doing for the past ten minutes.

"Counting trees... don't make me lose count. One hundred seventy-" Zelgadis' hand covered her mouth.

"Do me a favor, if your going to go mad, do so quietly and let US at least keep what little we have left by now."

"I agree." Rezo's voice sounded amused. The two of them (Zelgadis and Lina) so far had clashed, but not so far that it led into fights. Just enough that it irritated them somewhat. It helped keep things interesting for him on the plus side (Rezo that is), if he wasn't mistaken though, he could have sworn that his grandson might have liked her somewhat...

"You were never this cheery when you were twenty..." she muttered.

"I heard that. Maybe there's a reason for it." He commented back at her.

"So? You need to get over it!" she than realized how stupid she was being by reacting that way. He wasn't even suffering depression yet.

"Get over what?! Your counting trees, or something I haven't even done yet?!" he rolled his eyes as they walked down the beaten path.

"Both!"

There was a silence that fell between them.

"You are so irritable at times ya know that?" both snapped at each other simultaneously. They then stared at each other. "Weird." Again in tandem.

"You know they say only soul mates can-"

"Don't you dare finish that!" Lina yelled, blushing.

"As if I would want to be the soul mate of someone so annoying."

"As if I would want to be the soul mate of someone so depressing. Besides I know for a fact he likes someone else later on."

"What?"

"It's none of your business." She stuck out her tongue.

"It's my future!"

"Well it's my present!"

Rezo sighed, ok, maybe it wasn't so amusing anymore. "You two are just like children."

After that, blessed silence fell. For exactly two minutes.

"FIREBALL!" the powerful blast flew at them and only Rezo was quick enough to defend from it as he threw a shield up.

"What in the-" Lina was cut off as bandits stepped out from all around them. But not those thin, easily killed off, stupider than rock ones. These ones were pretty well to do. Some even had armor and some pretty nasty weapons.

"All right, fork over your valuables and the pretty cargo and you two gentleman can leave." The one with the most armor spoke out to them in a commanding and deep voice, not like the nasally stuck up idiots she used to run into.

"What cargo? We don't have any-" Lina looked to Zel who was giving her a 'don't - be - stupid' look and she blinked. "They mean me?!" she looked to them and blinked, "I'm pretty?" she seemed stunned, wow, this was a first, Zelgadis sweat dropped at her question. Wow! Someone actually wanted to have HER as part of the booty... Hey! "I'm not cargo! I'm Lina Inverse! Explosion Array!!!!" A circular blast seven feet around enveloped the head leader and three other men, and as the spell went off they flew upwards towards the sky and a mili-second later they collapsed as charcoal heaps on the ground.

"Attack!" the cry went out as the rest of the voices soared in their battle call and people from all around them started coming in.

"Shit!" Lina pulled out her sword and met one of the taller, dark haired men with it, no time to cast spells, her mind told her as she blocked another swing. Zelgadis had pulled out his own sword and was having trouble keeping his own with the bandit who had chosen to fight him. Rezo from what her peripheral vision had shown her, was an advanced fighter. His staff swung lethally and hit all intended targets in fluent graceful motions as the spell's finishing words parted from his lips, "Sleeping!" ten bandits on one side collapsed and another seven took their place.

"How many do they have?" Lina back flipped away from her opponent only to land within swords reach of another one, who, taking the chance while she was off guard, brought his sword down to slice her in the side, angered she threw a fireball directly at him which hurled him into one of the many trees surrounding them. She then saw Zelgadis go flying. Uh – oh, just how bad a fighter was he?

She turned around to face the man he had been facing to find it was a tall longhaired blonde man with dark amethyst eyes. Extremely handsome, too bad he was a bandit, otherwise she might have cared. "That was my friend asshole."

"For someone as pretty as you, you should watch your language." He leapt forward and just as he was about to attack-

"Bom di wind!" Rezo's spell hit the man and sent him flying. Lina looked to him gratefully and saw that the remaining attackers, a total of four, were fleeing back into the woods, one of the more cowardly screaming; "Run! The dramata will kill us all!"

Lina blinked, "Ohhhh so THAT'S how I got that name!" her joke lasted a mere moment before the pain in her side caught up with her and she sat down clutching her side, "Ow, that stings."

"I'm sure." Rezo said, "But I need to see if my grandson is still alive." He walked over to Zelgadis who was just gaining consciousness.

"Pain..." he groaned.

"You're lucky you aren't dead, especially since you're only a beginner fighter." White-hot magic shone from Rezo's fingertips and soon Zelgadis' pain dwindled leaving him on his own. Meanwhile, Lina was wincing at the blood.

"I didn't think he had cut me that bad." The cut hurt like all hell, but for what it was, it was pretty deep. "Oh great, blood." She went to casting a healing spell. Which was taking its bloody time, literally and figuratively.

"That's not healing very fast, is it." Zelgadis' comment wasn't a question.

"The first thing I do after all this is over, is I'm making Amelia teach me how to cast higher levels of healing." The ends of the wound were closing leaving only pink scar tissue.

"Miss Lina, let me." Rezo's spell went off again, "If you were to heal it like that you would have a scar, and we don't need to mar something flawless now do we?" he smiled lightly and it was done within a moment. "There. Now we really should continue."

Lina was too busy gaping to stand up, 'Mar something flawless???' Strange music played in her head (the twilight zone....) and she decided to pick up her jaw and walk with them both.

After five days of traveling, sleeping outside, and one night on a damp wooden floor, Lina was feeling cranky. Her stomach knotted up in disagreement at the thought. Check that, cranky and in pain and in absolutely no shape to deal with blood.

"Someone please kill me." She muttered.

Rezo's sharp ears caught her comment, "Is something the matter?"

"Oh NO not at all!" she said sarcastically. "Ok where's the nearest town and bathing area?!"

"Two days away if we follow this road." Zelgadis answered.

"How 'bout a river or spring? Or even better; hot spring?"

"Oh, that's a day a way, we'll have to veer off though-"

"I don't care!" she snapped.

"All right! I get the message!" Zel grumbled.

"You two would make a cute couple." Rezo said, purposely trying to annoy them, in the same manner rubbing a cat's fur the wrong way could possibly annoy the cat.

Both turned crimson, "SHUT UP!"

**Author Notes:** Faithful readers, looks to the empty room No this isn't L/Z....... That I know of.

In the beginning it was A/Z but things... well, I mold relationships to what I need them to be.

I'm not asking who you think who should go with, but I'm asking what you would like to see in the next chapters? Xellos being ordered into the past to confront her, Rezo, and Zel? Or should there be as little interfearance as possible and get her back home?

Happy ending?

Unhappy?

Or twisted?


	11. Chapter 10 Orders are Orders

Chapter 10

Orders are Orders

"Xellos!" her voice echoed in the large, darkened room, no sooner had her word been shouted, then her servant, appeared, kneeling before her.

"Yes my mistress?"

"There has been an astral disturbance recently. Dynast and I have gone ourselves to search the area where the astral glitch occurred. I was quite surprised to find that it had almost the same magic and energy pattern the last time this happened." she did not say it, but he knew what she spoke of. There had been a time disturbance. It had only happened once, but due to events beyond their control, they were unable to stop him from drastically changing the world... "But the difference is the casters signature pattern was left, woven in amongst the deepest part of the spell, and we must find whoever it was who cast it, and find out as much as we can before we make a decision."

"How do you suggest I track them Beast Master?"

"Whoever it was, appeared outside the village of Terrin, I have searched there and found traces of blood, and magic still in that area, you can follow the clues from there. It is important we find out who it is, they could destroy whatever may be... Do whatever you must to find out who it is, but be discreet. You're dismissed."

And with that one word he teleported away.

Xellos teleported to the outskirts of the town and began searching for the power his mistress had described, holding out a small amethyst, which dropped from his hand, held in the air by it's golden chain, it began to glow softly and tilt straight in front of him. Soon enough he found the magic signature and found the traces of blood, as he looked at it, he plucked the stained blades of grass smelled, than tasted it. It was human blood, and it held power in it. He closed his eyes for a moment, tainted power. He opened his eyes and began following the path and soon enough there was another patch of grass, stained with more blood in this area, but this time, there was a signature of a high magic pattern, white magic. The sorcerer must have been found by a Priest or Mage or a healer.

"You got very lucky." he whispered to the person, "It seems you were severely wounded and weak, too bad you didn't die. If you had, it would save me the trouble of most likely having to kill you later." He stood up and walked into the town. No need teleporting in, he didn't want to cause a scene.

Two hours of searching earned him more surprising facts then he thought he would find. Discovering there were only two inns, he checked the largest inn first with no luck. The second inn informed him that the mighty Rezo, the Red Priest, had stayed at their inn and that he had come in with a red headed girl in his arms, quite beautiful in fact. Xellos sighed as he realized the boy who worked at the inn, and who was currently telling him the story, must have had a crush on her at first sight.

"Yes, yes, lovely, but do tell me, do you know where they were going?" he interrupted the boy.

"Well I remember he did do a lot of healings that day after taking care of her... A little boy had asked him if he was going to come back and he mentioned he had to be on his way to visit family, but he would try." his voice wandered off as he tried thinking about it more and more.

"I see, well, where were they headed?" Xellos asked patiently.

"Oh, they headed towards the more expensive part of the residential area." he informed him.

"I see. Well thank you oh so very much." he smiled innocently and then walked out the door.

Because of the fact Rezo was possessed by Lord Shabranigdo, the higher Mazoku kept tabs on him, and his kin. And being right beneath his mistress in social level, it was important he know much about her plans, even if he is usually never told everything. Meaning, he knew about Rezo's family, and he knew where they lived. Well this WAS going to be interesting...

"Dear can you answer that? I'm doing the dishes!" Melandy called to her husband. Rendal sighed and put down his chisel and set it a top of the stone carving he was doing. He walked over to their door and opened it to find a man with purple hair, holding a staff, and dressed like a priest, on his door step.

"May I help you?" he questioned with a smile.

"It's I who need the help I'm afraid." he paused, putting forth a sigh. "My companion Rezo the Red Priest was rumored to be here. I am afraid I need his help, I am a priest, and my.... temple, is in need of his services."

Rendal frowned, "Oh, I see, well I'm very sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but he's all ready left on a quest with my son and Lina."

Xellos raised an eyebrow, "Lina?"

"Oh, forgive me priest, you do not know of her, she is the girl he rescued from deaths arms. My son was quite taken with her." he half laughed, "You know how young boys can be."

Xellos smiled winningly, "Of course, well is there anything I should know before I try to... hunt down my old companion?"

"Hmmm, well if an area of the woods goes ablaze, that's probably Ms. Lina attempting to cook again." He said this with a grin. "They were headed toward Sairaag though if it helps."

'That's what I was looking for.' Xellos bowed slightly, "Well thank you for the information Mr. Rendal Greywers, may you be blessed with an interesting life." he then left.

As Rendal closed the door and went back to his chisel humming, his mind began running over the conversation he had had. While carving out the hair on the stone girl he was making, he paused as a very eerie fact ran through his mind. 'I never gave him my name...'

Notes: To explain the significance of this ending I'll explain, It is not a public fact that Rezo Akahoushi is related to the 'Greywers' family. That's why it's eerie. The priest shouldn't have known. True he may have learned through the village, but doubted it would be his first name, being of a higher class. And anyway, it's my story ignore the glitches laughs

Oh by the way, seeing as I re-edited and corrected EVERY chapter, some things were changed a lot, and if you see a glaring prob, gimme a note kay?

Wow, the last time I updated was January 7, 2002.

Whistles


	12. Chapter 11 Watched

**Author Notes**: Sheesh, it took me long just to finally write this chapter. I'm surprised I got this chapter out. This chapter is dedicated to AsheRhyder and Za - Metallium because had I not gotten the weird urge to read slayers fiction (namely theirs) I wouldn't have been so damn well motivated into writing this chapter. And to ShadowDancer, my Onee-Chan. Because I love you.

Chapter 11

Watched

'_It's never 'just the wind'._'

What Rezo managed to find her wasn't a hot springs. Or even a small lake. It was a river. A cold river. And one weak fireball to the river let her know that as still as it looked... it was moving. What a waste of magic. Lina shivered in the night air. She stank from the fight she'd had, her body was aching like a beaten muscle... and she was going to lose the rest of her powers. If it wasn't one thing removing her of her abilities, it was another.

Stripping down to her bare skin she left boots and weapons behind her and took her clothing into the water. She let a squeal as the cool liquid surged against her skin. Oh lord it was cold! Her skin was all goose bumps and she had half a mind to return to the camp smelling of sweat and dust. She reached a nice sized rock, placed her clothes on it and began washing her shirt. The water was knee level and she shivered. The task took her several minutes cleaning her clothes and several times she caught herself looking up into the trees around her, feeling as if she were being watched.

She had a real good second sense about being watched or in trouble. She didn't feel like she was in danger... but something was watching her... Rezo was blind and she doubted he'd be that rude. Would Zel? No of course not, he was too shy. And she'd kill him if she discovered he was a voyeur.

Twenty minutes of paranoia later she put all her wet clothes in a nice pile and realized she had cleaned everything, leaving herself nothing dry to wear. Not even her cape. She cursed and stormed in deeper to the water. This just WASN'T her day. Taking a deep breath she dived into the water in one shot. Only to emerge from the water with a screech her arms wrapped tightly around her body.

"Mother of Chaos that's cold!" she grabbed the bar of soap that she'd used to clean her clothing and scrubbed her body down quickly. Giving her hair the most basic of washes she finally crawled her way out of the water, shivering and slipping to the shore. Her teeth chattered together and she grabbed her newly cleaned (and cold) cape and wrapped it around her body. With that done she went about the cheersome task of wringing out her clothing.

Xellos watched all this with a quiet amusement. So this was the girl that Rezo had saved. It was little wonder the boy at the inn had been quite taken with her. There weren't many girls around the area with hair the color of fire. It literally was an array of gold, orange, and red strands that when the light hit it, it rippled in a perfect imitation of a flame. Lithe, and not unattractive. And quite amusing. The one bit of magic she displayed while weak, gave away it's mark.

She was the one. She had cause the astral disturbance. Now to see what she would do. His orders were to be discreet. To watch. To see if she tried doing something that might be overly intrusive to Mazoku plans. His mistress didn't care about the humans... only that the Mazoku's plans weren't interfered with.

Done with wringing out her clothes she toddled off in the direction of the camp where Rezo and the violet haired boy had been. She cursed when she stepped on a plant or a sharp rock, or when her clothing was snagged, but otherwise she stayed silent.

"Rezo-" Lina saw both men turn. Zelgadis turned beat red and Rezo raised an eyebrow, "Can you please cast a spell to dry my clothes?"

Rezo held out his hands and she handed the damp clothes to him, grateful he hadn't asked _why_ she needed him to dry her clothes. He probably had assumed that maybe she just didn't know how, and deep down, Lina wanted to let him know that she knew how (because she wasn't an idiot) but if she did... her pride would take a blow.

"Did you enjoy your swim?" Rezo asked after several minutes of tense silence.

"It was fit for a cleansing ritual." Lina grabbed her dry clothes and went behind a tree surrounded by shrubbery to change. She was rather happy that Melandy Greywers had replaced her magenta outfit with another traveling one. Her magenta outfit, which had been covered in food sauces and burns had been replaced with dark green doe skin pants, which clung to her lower body like a second skin. Her shirt was a pale green and was cinched at her waist by her belt, the rest of the shirt flowing over and around her hips. The sleeves were long but fit her arms snugly at the elbow and wrist. It wasn't as flashy as her old outfit, but it complimented her better and wouldn't gain as many insults as her other one had.

She hoped into her dark brown boots and slipped her violet gloves into her back pocket. She'd have to buy matching gloves later, for the time being her vanity could suffer the breakage of color scheme. She stepped back into the little campfire circle and hung her cloak on a branch to air dry.

"So what we eating?" she asked, her tummy following her question in a rumble.

"I made a stew of our jerky and dried vegetables." Zelgadis replied stirring said concoction.

"Will it be ready soon?" she opened her bag and pulled out her demon blood talismans and secured the first one on her belt. Wearing the talisman's gave her a feeling of security. Because even drained of all magic, they gave her some way of tapping into at least a little of it. Even if they belonged to Xellos. Twisted but true. She clipped the second one to her throat and Rezo glanced at her.

Rezo sensed... something.

From her. From around them.

Something...

Xellos' amethyst eyes opened. What did that girl pull out of her bag?

Masaka! (1)

He glanced down at his own wrists... his waist. Then back to her. She finished donning her talismans... and Xellos for the first time in his long life felt a sliver of fear run through him.

How had that girl— gained those items? Nothing save death could ever part him from his talismans. They were priceless. Literally. A gift from- - _How?_

She... couldn't have killed him and taken them- could she?

It didn't _feel_ as if she had that kind of power. Her magical reserves were so low she shouldn't even be able to cast a light spell. But...

He didn't like what this implied at all.

How had she gotten those talismans?

How?!

"Miss Lina, what are those that you put on?" Rezo asked cordially.

"Oh... they're my talismans." she finished closing the last talisman, locking it in place to her wrist. "Why?"

Rezo debated whether he should say anything. Really, it wasn't any of his business and he doubted that such items would have any impact at all with what they had to do. He decided to leave it be. "Oh, nothing. Miss Lina, I have been trying to think of a way to help you... and I think, that we shouldn't go directly to Sairaag. I belive we should go to someone who would know more about this magic, than you or I. I believe we should go to the dragons."

Lina's ruby colored eyes widened. "The wha-?"

"There is a legend that within the Kattart Mountains is a fountain of knowledge, that only the dragons can reach. Something not many wizards know about. The Claire Bible, have you heard of it?"

Lina nodded hesitantly. "D-do you mean the one that only the dragons themselves can reach?"

"You know the tales than. Yes, that is the one I speak of. The memories of the Water Dragon King may just hold the answer you are searching for. A way to destroy the books, yet go back to your time and not cause a sort of... paradox. To just be able to return and ensure your friends are not dead because of the book."

Lina gave a very small smile, "And you think that Auntie- - er, that the Water Dragon King just might have the answers?"

"Yes, I do. More answers than I could give you. If anyone can help you, it's them."

Lina went silent for a moment than shook her head, "I'm not sure that this is gonna work. The last time I went up there, the only reason the dragons let me into their valley was because they were being threatened. And it wasn't me they were afraid of. In fact they were pretty insulted that they were being told to show it to a 'mere human'." she smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was cynical.

Xellos really didn't like what he was hearing. The dragons let her see the Claire Bible? She'd been shown the holiest of all items (to the dragons) and she barely had enough power to cast a lighting? She had HIS talismans on her body- -

She wasn't as powerless as he thought she was. It was as simple as that.

There was no other way for it.

But who could have threatened the dragons? Those sticklers barely listened to HIM... and he was the 'Bringer of Doom'. No other Mazoku had influence on them the way he did. Well... he was fairly sure the five Demon Lords wouldn't have too much trouble getting them to bend. But he was getting off track.

She wanted to destroy the books? Well, that just might be a bright idea. But he'd have to clear it with his mistress. If she said the books mustn't be destroyed, than Xellos would ensure that they weren't.

If she wanted to go home and supposedly leave things as unchanged as possible... than that was fine. So long as he wasn't ordered to kill her.

But while they were on the road Xellos would have to find the location of the other book in Sairaag and read it. He needed to know what the girl knew. And he could than tell Zellas, who with better information, would adjust her orders for what would be best.

"It is true, the dragons guard their treasures fiercely, but I am friends with them. I saved a childling from harm. Some rather nasty bandits were about to try and cook themselves a dinner... the childling had managed to fly... well, glide off from the safety of the valley. It was the first time in their history that a dragon that young had ever gotten past the protection of their parents or the watchers. But because of it, it allowed me a chance to befriend them. One in particular, in fact, should I explain how dire the situation is, hopefully will allow you the chance to speak with the Claire Bible. I have never been allowed near it, despite how I've tried, my blindness does not seem to come into a great enough importance factor for them to allow me to use it."

Rezo's voice held bitterness, and near worry.

Lina lowered her gaze back down to the fire.

"Rezo..." she bit her lip. This wasn't her place. It really wasn't. It wasn't her business. "You're blindness- -"

Rezo lifted his head up to 'look' at her. "What?" his voice was slightly tinged with suspicion.

"You've tried so many ways to open your eyes... have you ever thought that perhaps there has been a reason for why you've been unable to open them?" she kept her gaze firmly on Rezo and watched as he went from surprise, to anger, to indecision.

Xellos watched them, as ever, in interest.

"What reason could there be from robbing a man from the gift of being able to see?" his voice was even and controlled. Meaning he was upset.

Lina wanted to tell him. Outright. But...

"I'm not quite sure I can say... But maybe you should look up for other people who've been blind and unable to cure their blindness. Look up what they did, how they lived, what type of people they were. How powerful they were. Things like that. And maybe see if there's a common thread. Especially if they started acting odd towards the end of their lives."

There, she'd done the best she could. Without outright saying, _'Well see, if you really unseal your eyes you're not only going to die, but you're going to unleash the Dark Lord Shabranigdo upon the world...'_ He might not take that too well.

What the girl was saying was quite interesting. If Xellos didn't know any better, he might have sworn the girl knew something. Xellos wasn't sure when the girl came from... but the only way she could have known that Rezo held a piece of Shabranigdo within him (assuming she knew at all) would mean she was more than likely from the future. But she wasn't outright telling him anything. Which could mean she knew, or just was suspicious by nature of his inability to heal his eyesight. But Xellos was fairly sure it was the former. So not telling Rezo would win brownie points so to speak, with Zellas and the others... Possibly.

This just might require interaction.

And if Xellos showed up, and she showed a reaction... a specifically odd one... well than, he would know for sure something was up and that he'd have to step up things. To a level he didn't all too often ever have to reach. Not when it concerned humans. Furthermore, Xellos was all too curious as to who Rezo would be asking the favor of.

Rezo instead of instantly dismissing her suggestion took it into serious consideration. But sighed, "Miss Lina, I have been searching for many decades... and I have heard of many people with blindness... one or two were unable to cure their eyes, but I assumed it was because the healing magic's are more advanced now. I can look into what you suggest. But I hope for nothing anymore." he sighed and shook his head.

Lina was once more struck with the thought that the Rezo of now was so much more different than the Rezo she had met. She was glad that she could prove it now without a doubt. He HAD been a good man. But by the time she would see him, he'd be on his last thread of sanity...

She smiled lightly, "You really are a good man Rezo."

Xellos watched them the rest of the night.

Author Notes:

1) Masaka - Impossible


End file.
